Adam's Garden

Late summer in the garden can be a little chaotic around here because the number of jobs tends to outstrip the available time and enthusiasm. Cutting grass, whilst bearable at the beginning of the year tends to get a little tedious, especially when the result is marred by the brown patches that appear due to lack of rain. This year we have had a plentiful supply of the wet stuff, yet it doesn't take long for a few dry days to take their toll. I usually weed and feed the lawn in April or May but neglected to do so this time round. Come to think of it the reason might be the incessant rain we were receiving about that time! I have noticed a few patches of clover, which could be a consequence of my earlier failing, but now that one side of the lawn is shaded by a fence there has to some extent been a change in the microclimate so it is difficult to sort out cause and effect.

The greenhouse is surrounded by a number of plants that have not found a place in the garden this year. Some potted cannas, which are usually moved on when the flower spikes start to form, have not had enough warm weather to produce anything more than a few leaves. My big mistake in this case was to move them outside too soon. The cool conditions have allowed some growth but nowhere near enough and I am still debating whether to bring them inside, and into late flower, or to leave them where they are just let the foliage feed the roots in preparation for a better display next year. The rhizomes are not winter hardy so I lift them in October for storage in slightly moist compost. They are potted up in spring and if more than one shoot appears the rhizome can be cut into pieces, each with a single shoot, and each piece will form a new plant and produce a nice bloom. I bought a yellow canna this year, as a change from my red ones, but it looks as if another year will pass before I actually see it flower.

Next to the cannas are a few cuttings taken earlier in the year from some exquisite scented geranium plants bought by mail order. They are too small to form any kind of display so they are just sitting there, and hopefully will not grow too large this year and take up too much space in the greenhouse. The parent plants, still in the pots, have been sunk into a purpose-dug bed surrounding a crumbling and completely useless concrete sundial, that is only kept for old-times sake. The leaves have various scents - 'attar of roses' smells distinctly of turkish delight, which makes me wonder if it is used in the production, and 'Prince of Orange' has a mouthwatering citrus aroma, as do a number of the others. 'Tomentosa' smells slightly medicinal and yet another is like exotic spices. Brushing against the foliage releases the perfume, but since most people avoid touching the plants the action is usually contrived.

On the shaded side of the greenhouse there are a few Fuchsias left behind. Some are too small for this year, cuttings taken a little late, and others are fair sized but still not quite in flower. The latter can be moved into position within the next couple of weeks to replace containers past their best and provide some autumn cheer. With any luck we shall have an Indian summer because a number of plants are ready to flower, having been retarded for much of the summer by the lower than normal temperatures.

There are a number of Acnistus in various containers. There was a good germination rate and I potted on more than originally intended. Those that I hoped would flower this year were put into large pots and the rest, which I am keeping for next year, into medium sized containers. Unfortunately (that seems to be my catchphrase!) those in the large pots have not flowered this year, which means I shall have to find space for them indoors. The dramatic blue trumpet shaped flowers can sometimes appear in the first year, so the seed packet says, but it is more normal from the second year onward. The plants appear to need much feeding. I mixed slow-release fertiliser in with the compost but this has not been enough for the season and a few weeks ago some of the leaves started to turn yellow. Supplementary feeding with phostrogen has improved them markedly.

A number of leftover marigolds, laurentia, rubeckia, gaillardia and phlox remain in their original three inch pots, scattered on a bay covered in chippings by the end of the greenhouse. It is remarkable how they survive if they can obtain enough water, eking out the faintest residual nutrients from the spent compost and producing the odd anaemic flower. Among these are three pots of oxalis with leaves that became discoloured and flowers that lacked in the quantity stakes - not worth placing out for display. There are also few straggly looking lotus vine cuttings in a pot; quickly done a couple of months ago when I trod on the parent plant and broke a piece off. I divided the piece into four and stuck them into a pot of compost, left behind after the original plant it nourished had died, and surprisingly they have all survived, even though they do not actually look to have grown to any extent.

I will not dwell any further on these few forgotten plants because they are dwarfed by the number that are in their final positions and are thriving. Particularly good at present are the annual lavatera 'Mont Blanc', with large white blooms and luxuriant dark green foliage and stems. The plants look more like perennials and whole stems can be cut and placed indoors for displays. The Oxalis deppei, which were planted as corms in the spring, are still flowering after months and look as if they will continue for some time to come. The Malope, purple and white, look majestic until a shower beats them down, but the recovery doesn't take long and the process makes them spread in all directions. Thalictrum, with it's cool, slate grey foliage, is producing a second flush of tiny yellow flowers, formed in panicles atop the swaying stems.

The Leonotis, or 'lions ear', a tender perennial that flowers well in the first year, is producing large orange flowers that emerge in spiky clusters directly from the stems. The foliage looks a lot like nettles but the plant has a certain grandeur and is ideal for the back of borders. The plants were severely knocked back by the last frost of spring, when I tried to harden them off too early. Most survived, and as a result of their slow start they are flowering much later than expected, attracting much interest from vistors.

Crocosmias abound in borders and crevices around the farm. The glowing orange and yellow flowers look almost incandescent in the early evening and each year they increase in number, extremely hardy and seemingly undemanding of soil type . They make good cut flowers, especially when most of them have been pollinated, giving a display of berries to complement the remaining delicate flower heads. The only criticism I would have is the tendency for the plants to get overcrowded and fall over, but maybe that is more a comment on the gardener.

Several late-flowering clematis are coming into their own and innumerable roses are still providing plenty of colour. Monarda are looking excellent, as is the chocolate Cosmos 'astrosanguinea' which has the bonus of smelling good enough to eat.

Maybe late summer is not that bad after all. There might be mountains of dirty plant pots waiting to be cleaned , brambles rampaging through the hedges, cuttings to take, and weeks of dead heading to catch up on, but there are still hundreds of plants yet to reach their individual crescendoes and the seed catalogues should be out soon, so we poor fool gardeners can start all over again!

You can find more articles in the archive under Soiled Hands.

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